Reflecting on Koinonia

I’ve been thinking about what I want to say about our two weeks at Koinonia Partners for a while.  It’s difficult to put into words what our/my experience was like.  On one hand it was a typical service experience.  We did some work, some exploring and got to know some great people.  On the other hand we were introduced to a way of living Christianity that I have not experienced before.  The faith of most of the people we encountered was so present, so real, that it is literally a part of every breath.  That’s not to say that they don’t get frustrated and irritated at life’s daily challenges, they do.  But in the same breath as frustration there is forgiveness, irritation is remedied with grace, anger with prayer and joy is celebrated with praise.

Koinonia is Greek for community.  Koinonia Partners was founded in 1942 by Clarence Jordan, the son of a white plantation owner, in Sumter County Georgia.  Sumter County was as segregated as any place could be in the 1940’s.   Clarence had a vision of a shared community where everyone, regardless of race, was welcome.  He invited his neighbors, poor black share-cropper families to join him at his table, to work with him (not for him) on the Koinonia farm.  For this, he and all of the Koinonia community was ostracized and persecuted by the Klu-Klux-Klan, as well as other local white businesses.   In order to help the farm survive Clarence began a mail-order business selling pecans.  His moto was “Shipping the nuts out of Georgia”.  The farm and community survived through the civil rights movement and subsequent retaliations by the local community.

In the 1970’s the Fullers joined the Koinonia community.  Linda and Millard Fuller gave away their millions and entered into the community.  Millard had a vision of showing Gods love in the building of homes.  He saw the need of his neighbors, living in shacks, for a solid decent home, and so Koinonia built the first houses of what was later to become Habitat for Humanity.   The first villages are still present and in use.  The Fullers ended up moving Habitat into Americus, Ga, but remained supporters of Koinonia.  Millard is buried on the Koinonia grounds, his hammer hanging from a tree near his gravesite. 

The 1990’s where tough for Koinonia, trying to survive without a clear vision of who they were.  They tried a number of different models of community, none of which worked well.  In 2007 Bren came in as the director and together the community has redefined their vision of who they are. "We are Christians called to live together in intentional community sharing a life of prayer, work, study, service and fellowship. We seek to embody peacemaking, sustainability, and radical sharing. While honoring people of all backgrounds and faiths, we strive to demonstrate the way of Jesus as an alternative to materialism, militarism and racism".  We were treated as family and immediately made welcome at their table.  We enjoyed a daily morning chapel during the weekdays.  Weekday lunches were eaten communally, as well as suppers on tue-thur.  At 10, 3 and 8 the bell would ring encouraging all to stop and pray for a moment, to be centered once again.  Sunday evenings saw a time of worship together.  This time included the opportunity to name those people and events that people were grateful for. 

I spent my work time in a few different projects.  The first week I spent mornings in the library.  The library had a new roof put on recently and was in disarray.  I dusted and reshelved books.  Andrea, with the help of another guest, Delinda, got the children’s books dusted and reorganized.  We also spent lots of time in the gardens, weeding and prepping beds for planting.  Doug was integral in putting up a steel building (check out his blog for the details on that).  Erin helped in the kitchen as well as the garden.  I also had the opportunity to utilize a commercial oven that baked 18 loaves of bread as well as 7 dozen rolls at one time and it was only half full!   

Leaving was bittersweet.  We are/were ready to move on to the next part of the trip, which is heading towards Arizona to see my parents.  The other part of me will really miss Koinonia and wonder whether my path will lead me back and in what manner.